A Fine Blog

Monday, June 25, 2018

"Oh my God, oh my God. I am calling all of my friends. I can't believe it. My dreams have come true." This was the reaction of one teen I encountered on Lexington Avenue and East 85th Street as she first spotted the new Taco Bell there, apparently just days from opening.

The area is one of the healthiest in New York with an incredible density of gyms (including Equinox and SoulCycle), yoga studios, and no shortage of juice bars, health food stores, and salad shops. "Sweet Green" and "Just Salad" are nearby. "Fresh & Co" sits right next door to Taco Bell, creating a perfect juxtaposition. Taco Bell would probably contend that they are one of the healthier fast food options out there, but I would take that with a grain (or perhaps a small bag) of salt. While the half century old, California-based tacoteer may seem out of place, perhaps it has found just the right place? At least one teen thinks so.

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

I noticed this past weekend that Green Kitchen, a childhood favorite diner, is in the process of opening a second location on the high turnover northwest corner of 84th Street and Second Avenue. According to the employee that answered the phone at the original Green Kitchen on 77th and First Avenue, the second location will be "pretty much the same" and "will open in the next couple of months." The first Green Kitchen remains in business after more than 75 years, so chances are that the corner on 84th will be trading high turnover for apple turnovers.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

New York City is often called "the city that never sleeps". While the slogan reflects a city that is vital and dynamic 24 hours a day, for many city residents the phrase is taken literally because there is a constant racket! Local politicians have taken notice and sound pollution has seen increased attention in the City Council. Ben Kallos, Representative for District 5, for instance, has introduced legislation that would require that all noise complaints are addressed within 2 hours. But how about regulating the noise?

Who are the culprits? Bars, clubs, construction sites and garbage trucks are frequently cited irritants. However, I believe that the noisiest of all is overlooked- trucks that use compression breaking systems, otherwise know as "Jake Brakes". Jake Brakes use the engine itself rather than a conventional brake to slow a truck down. They are intended to slow a truck faster in the event of emergency, but are overused by truckers as they also reduce wear on the conventional brakes. The result from the compression of a Jake Brake is an ear splitting, window shaking low frequency rattle often described as a fast succession groan of "bap,bap, bap, bap, bap." How loud is this noise? An improperly muffled truck jake braking can be as loud as 105 decibels perhaps even louder, properly muffled, 85 decibels. For context, a garbage truck compacting trash during overnight hours is limited to 85 decibels. An increase of 10 decibels is 2 times louder, an increase of 20 decibels is 4 times louder. So, that semi rolling down your street utilizing the jake brake can be 4 times as loud as a garbage truck at full throttle. More examples of decibel levels for context: lawn mower 85 dB, motorcycle 88 dB, train 100dB, jackhammer 110 dB. So, if you are trying to sleep with the windows open, and you have survived the garbage trucks and the local drunks kicked out of the pubs, the trucks with jake brakes could be the last straw.

Why should the Jake Brake be banned in NYC with the exception of an emergency? That answer is easy. They are loud as all hell, they shake windows, disturb our sleep, and if trucks actually comply with the 25mph they are almost entirely unnecessary. Give us a break, ban the Jake Brake!

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Anyone who has seen East 86th Street over the past two years can likely do more than simply shake their head. It has been a mess, an absolute mess! There has been water main replacement, gas main replacement, building demolition, and 2nd Avenue Subway construction. They are done, but wait, there are two last big projects that are being worked on- the restoration of the street after the various mains were replaced, and the East 86th Street Streetscape revamp.

The "restoration" involves tearing up the street where mains have been replaced, tamping down the soil, filling with concrete and paving over with asphalt. The "streetscape plan" (long advocated by the East 86th Street Association of which I am a member) replaces all curbs from 2nd Avenue to Park Avenue, expands sidewalks for bus bulbs, construction of pedestrian-friendly corner bump outs, expanding the size and number of tree pits, adding new trees, adding decorative tree guards and plantings to all the pits from 2nd Ave to Park, and adding planters and new street furniture. The numbers are impressive:-15 new trees- 3 trees replaced- 304 Shrubs (18"-24")- 37 Shamrock Inkberry Bushes (30"-36")- 2759 flowering bulbs- 301 ornamental Grasses (3 gallons each)- 204 perennials - 10 citibenches w backs- 58 new, matching tree guards

Fortunately, the last two projects are in the final stretch and all work is due to be completed by the end of November. If you want to keep track, the work is completed on the south side of East 86th, and they are now progressing with curbs, sidewalks and tree pits on the north side of 86th heading from east to west. They are approaching Lex, so a little more than a block to go. Or, follow @East86th on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Residents on or near East 86th Street, who have endured so much, are about to be repaid with plenty of green!

Here are the pictures from October 3rd, 2017. (Sorry, haven't figured out the slideshow function on Blogger yet!):

We are pleased to announce that District 5 Council Member Ben Kallos has secured funding to transition all 5th District corner trash receptacles from the old wire baskets to the new, larger cans housed in green metal cases. The new cans with domed top and smaller opening increases capacity, prevents spillage and deters rats. The 284 new cans announced today is in addition to the 38 announced last June and the 13 recently lobbied for by @East86th along Lexington Avenue.

For the past several years, the East 86th Street Association has lobbied local officials and the Department of Sanitation for larger cans and increased pick-ups in the neighborhood. We are happy that these efforts are now bearing fruit.

Council Member Kallos adds ""It is a pleasure to have partners like the East 86th Street Association, they are a true asset to the community, " Its board members have been crucial in keeping me up to speed on the cleanliness of the neighborhood and have pushed for more trash cans. Thank you to the East 86th Street Association for their support and commitment to keeping Upper East Side streets as clean as possible."

On behalf of the East 86th Street Association we extend a very well deserved thank you to the Council Member and Commissioner Garcia. We greatly appreciate your receptiveness to our common concerns and especially appreciate that you have taken decisive actions to address those concerns. Many of the new cans have already been deployed in recent weeks and the improvement in local sanitation is noticeable.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Hey folks, I know it has been a while, and I miss you all! It has been a busy year and a half, if I have the count correct. First, I had a bit of writer's block. Second, I was busy with business. That's not a bad problem to have. I have also been busy with community activism in my local neighborhood of the East 80's on the Upper East Side.

I'm not sure where to start. A Fine Blog, put me on the path to community activism. The following was immense. I've had over One Million unique viewers over the years. The blog gets attention, and I had issues that I wanted addressed. It worked. The blog drew attention to all sorts of issues from crazy rules at Chuck E Cheese's (which eventually ran the viral gauntlet all the way up to Weekend Update on SNL) to piles of garbage on the Upper East Side. The latter, and specifically local sanitation issues, is one that I am uniquely obsessed with. In any case, the blog worked. Local news media picked up my stories and drew attention to my issues and brought them into the spotlight, and forcing them to be addressed. I'll admit, as a blogger, I grew somewhat frustrated. There were several instances where my stories were big hits, but there was zero attribution to the source, A Fine Blog. There were instances where my words on grifted virtually word for word and ended up in local tabloids and claimed by the writer to be his/her own. There were news crews showing up on the same day shooting video of the precise location of a quality of life infraction that I only shot photos of earlier in the day. Again, no attribution. On the other hand, publications like Curbed, The Real Deal, and reporters with integrity, like Tom Llamas, were more than willing to share the source of a compelling story. I guess I have digressed from the story here though. All of this comes with the territory of blogging, and the greater good or purpose of drawing attention to issues was served. On balance, I will settle with this result any day!

So, I went away from the blog, but that didn't mean that I wasn't busy. Actually, I got busier. I started attending Community Board 8 meetings, City Council meetings, meetings with my local (and admirable) Councilman Ben Kallos. I started getting tangible results. I was invited to join the board of the East 86th Street Association, where I serve with pride. My interest in reviving the blog grew, but before I could tackle that project, I had one big project in mind- to completely revamp the website and social media presence of the East 86th Street Association. I started in December and it turned out to be a much bigger project than I anticipated. Sure, I've authored a Blogger-based blog for a decade, but I hadn't built a website from scratch since the early 90's. We are talking way back with Microsoft Front Page, before there was social media! Anyway, it was a beast of a chore, and I could only do it in my spare time. I wanted to build the best community organization website around, which made the task even tougher. I was fortunate for three things- my friend William Mallick, a coder that I hired to help, Squarespace, and a friendly bar with decent wifi and a tolerance for geeks sitting around over laptops on a regular basis.

The end result, East86th.org is alive, and thankfully finished! Well, the base site is finished, it will remain a work in progress as new content is loaded on a regular basis. Items that relate to the East 80's will also appear here. Items that don't relate to my local hood will only appear here. I have also revamped East 86th Street Association's social media platforms- Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, all easily found under the moniker @East86th. Please have a look!

So, next up, an A Fine Blog makeover and reboot. Again, this will be a work in progress, but I hope you enjoy all of the insights and content. It is great to be back!

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

My rate forecast back in March has been fulfilled as the Fed finally, in a widely anticipated move, raised the Fed Funds rate 1/4 of a point today. The current Funds rate is now a target range between .25% and .50%. So, with slight bragging aside, 2016 seems to be far more difficult to forecast than 2015. The economy is relatively healthy, but far from robust. There is very little inflationary pressure, and wages are just now starting to see an inkling of acceleration. GDP forecasts are in the 2.5% range for 2016. Those forecasts would have to be topped for the Fed to do anything dramatic on the interest rate front. From this vantage point, I think the Fed will gradually try to put a couple of bullets back in the holster, so I see a gradual increase in rates for 2016. My forecast, three rate hikes in 2016 of a quarter point each.

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About Me

Associate broker for Halstead Property. First licensed in 1991. Dedicated to providing a level of service, knowledge, and professionalism which exceeds all in the industry. Moved to New York at age 7 (over 40 years ago). I love the old New York and I am an infomaniac when it comes to new development in the city. I have a wonderful wife, 3 gorgeous girls, and live on the Upper East Side.
E Mail any time: andrew@afinecompany.com or for real estate matters afine@Halstead.com or just check my real estate page: http://andrewfine.halsteadagent.com/